Reckoning
by penguino3782
Summary: A post 4.3 fic that takes place in my "Family Ties" verse. Pope is spiraling after his conversation with J about Angela. Baz shares his son's sentiments when it comes to the recovering addict.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Animal Kingdom.**

**A/N: So just a little post 4.3 "Man vs. Rock" fic as if it took place in my "Family Ties" verse, which means Baz is alive. This takes place a couple of years after "Family Ties" so by now Baz sees J as being his son. Main thing to remember is that Baz is alive therefore Lena is still around oh and there is no Mia. I know the last thing I should be doing is posting another one shot for this verse while "Family Ties" is still unfinished, but I can't help myself. **

"Hey, I got your message." Baz says as he takes a seat at the bar. Craig is nursing a beer as Deran wipes down the bar top. "What's going on?"

Deran and Craig look at each other. But neither says anything. Baz rubs the bridge of his nose tiredly. He's too tired to deal with this shit. He just got back late last night from Mexico and was up early in the morning to get Lena off to school because J couldn't. It's Tuesday which means J has class at eight and was already gone by the time Lena usually wakes up.

"It's about…." Craig starts but Deran finishes. "Have you talked to Pope?"

Baz shakes his head. "Not since before I left for Mexico. So a couple of days. Why?"

Deran refills Craig's glass. "He's been acting… off."

He sighs. What the hell. It's like his brothers are speaking in circles. "What do you mean off? He's Pope. When is he not off?"

Craig shakes his head. "It's not like that. He's acting stranger than usual. Even for Pope. When I stopped by the house earlier today, he was beating the shit out of a punching bag. Nearly took my head off when I got too close."

"So?" Baz asks. "Better he beats the shit out of a punching bag than a security guard when we're out on a job."

Craig shakes his head. "No man, you didn't see his eyes. It was like he wasn't even seeing me. Something's up."

"Or it could be that he's been around Smurf too much," Deran adds.

"I don't think that's it. Besides, we're getting ready to move on this statute job. It's 800 grand. He needs be on his A game or sit this one out."

"And let me guess, you don't want to make that call. That's where I come in," Baz says.

Craig and Deran don't deny it. Bingo. He's here to make the call whether or not Pope sits this one out.

"Has J said anything to you?" Craig asks. "I know he's been back and forth between your place and Smurf's. He might have picked up on something. Heard something."

"Nah, he hasn't said anything. But I haven't seen him since I got back. Didn't get back until after two this morning and he was in bed. He has classes this morning so he was gone before I woke up this morning."

"So he's really doing the college thing?" Deran says with a smirk.

Baz nods. He looks down so Deran and Craig can't see the smile on his face. He can't help but feel proud of J. Only Cody to have graduated from high school. Not just a Cody, but his kid. And now he's going to college. He's also happy that J is living the life of a normal nineteen year old. Going to college. Even if it's only to give those outside of the family the image that he's merely a college kid and not a criminal mastermind.

"Says he's doing it to help fool the cops when they come around asking questions.," Baz says.

"And what do you say?" Craig asks

"I say, the kid has a thing for math. If he can try and figure out a way to get us from under Smurf's thumb, so be it. It'll be good for us in the long run."

"True that," Craig says.

"Enough talk of J's academic career. Deran, get me a drink. I'm going to need a few before I head over to Smurf's to talk to Pope."

Baz shakes his head when he sees Deran pouring him a beer. "Fuck that, give me a shot"

Deran smiles as he pours each of them a shot.

**XXXXX**

The sounds of Pope's heavy breathing and skin hitting leather greets Baz as he enters the garage. Careful as if not to scare his brother, Baz makes sure his steps are deliberate and loud as he makes his way towards his brother. Still Pope continues his assault on the punching bag.

"Hey…." Baz says.

Pope doesn't stop his attack. If anything the punches become harder and more frequent.

"Pope…" Baz tries but to no avail. What the hell. Deran and Craig were right. There's something definitely going on with Pope. This is not Pope being off. This something more than that.

Throwing caution in the wind and despite his better judgment, Baz puts his hand on his brother's shoulder the next time he calls his name.

Pope's head whips behind him when he feels the touch, his lip curled into a snarl.

Baz holds up his hands, "Easy, Pope! It's just me!"

Pope drops his arms to his side, his hands curled into fists. "What?!"

Yeah, Pope is way past "off." He's in Pope level 11 on a scale of 1 to 10.

"Easy, what is going on?" Baz asks in a calm tone. One that's close but not exactly like the one he uses when Lena wakes up in the middle of the night from a nightmare.

"Why are you here? J's been staying at your place with Lena since you left last week," Pope says as he goes to raise his hands, eyes tracking back to the punching bag.

"Stop, Pope," Baz says once Pope resumes his assault on the punching bag. "I didn't come over here to see J. I came here to talk to you."

"Me?" Pope says turning to face Baz. "Why do you need to talk to me? J say something to you?"

Why would J say something to him? And about what? What the hell is going on? If he was confused before, Baz is really fucking confused now.

"No, I haven't seen J since I got back. It's Tuesday. He's in class all day until he picks Lena up from school and takes her to soccer. I came here because Deran and Craig are worried about you. I told them I would come by and talk to you."

"Baz?" A voice calls out from the doorway. "Is that you?"

Curious to see who is behind the new voice, Baz turns towards the source. It takes him a few seconds to register who the voice belongs to. Someone who he hasn't seen in years. Not since before Julia left with J.

"It's me Angela. Julia's friend," she says.

Angela. Julia's friend. Shit.

Baz gives an awkward sorta wave. What do you do when you see your son's mother's junkie best friend for the first time in ten years? What do you say to the woman who no doubt had a hand in your kid's shitty childhood?

"It's good to see you," Angela says with a smile as she steps towards them. But then she stops. Sensing that she walked in on something. "I'll leave you guys alone. See you around, Baz."

And as soon as she appeared, she's gone.

Baz turns back to Pope. "She have anything to do with what's going on with you?"

Pope throws a vicious punch. "J's not happy to see her."

Baz frowns. "what?"

Pope throws another punch. "He knows she's back in town. Saw her last night when he stopped by to get something for school."

"And?" Baz prods for Pope to continue. He doesn't like where this is going.

"I asked him if he was happy to see her since she was Julia's friend. Told me no. And said some fucked up shit."

This is like pulling teeth. It's no wonder why J says so little. He no doubt inherited his uncles' ability to say close to nothing when there's a problem.

"What did he say?" Baz asks.

"That Angela used to have him shoot her up. She bailed on them. And when Julia was going through withdrawal, he had to get her stuff. Shit was a bad batch. Julia got sick and ended up in the ER."

"Fuck," Baz curses. It's been a couple of years since J has moved in with them, but he forgets how little he knows about J's childhood. That besides Damien, only bits and pieces of J's past has trickled out from the kid. It's easy to forget how little Baz knows about his kid's childhood when J is joking around with him when they're out to dinner or Lena says how jealous her friends are that she has an older brother who takes he surfing. But then J flinches when Lena wakes him after falling asleep on the couch, or Julia's long lost friend makes an appearance, and Baz is instantly reminded of everything that he was never there for.

Now Baz wants his own turn on the punching bag.

**XXXXX**

Baz follows Pope quietly into the house after Pope get his fair share of aggression out on the poor punching bag and Baz is finally able to convince Pope to take a shower. With Pope in the shower, Baz easily finds Angela in the kitchen. He stands in the doorway silently as she moves around the kitchen making herself at home. She notices him out of the corner of her eye when she closes the fridge door, an apple and bottle of water in her hand.

"Jesus, Baz!" she exclaims holding her chest. "You scared the shit out of me."

Baz walks into the kitchen so he's a couple of feet away from Angela.

"Where's….where's Pope?" Angela asks nervously.

Baz points with his thumb towards the bathroom. "He's in the shower."

Angela nods her head and goes to leave, but Baz steps in her way. "Hold on. We need to talk."

"Talk about what?" Angela asks.

"Did you know about Damien?" Baz asks.

Angela bites her lip. And the die is cast. She knew. _She knew._

"I don't know why you're here. And frankly, I don't give a shit. If I had my way, you wouldn't be staying here. You would be crawling back to whatever alley you crawled out of. But, for some reason Pope wants you here. He thinks you changed now that you're sober. I'm not going to say anything. He'll figure it out on his own."

"I've changed," Angela says. "I did. I have. I'm no longer that same person. It tears me up inside what Julia and I put J through when he was a kid."

Pope puts his finger up to silence her and steps closer to her. "Pope is a big boy and he can make his own decisions. But you stay the hell away from me and my kid. Got it?"

Angela shakily nods her head.

Baz takes the apple from her hand and takes a bite. "Good. Glad we cleared that up."

He throws the nearly whole apple into the trash as he makes his way out of the kitchen.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own Animal Kingdom.**

**Notes: So I decided to continue this story. To be honest I was not really happy with how Angela's storyline played out. I felt like a little let down so I decided to do my own little re-write. I hope you enjoy.**

Baz' eyes slide open when he hears a noise breaking the silence that fills the house. He sleepily grabs his phone and a blurry 2:39 stares back at him. Needing to find the source that woke him from a sound sleep, he gets up and slowly moves out of his room. He first stops at Lena's room. He cracks open the door to find her sound asleep, her limbs spread out on the bed like a starfish. Her sleeping position is the exact opposite of J's. He can't help but smirk. Where Lena's limbs are every which way while she sleeps, taking up the whole bed, J all but curls himself into the smallest position possible, barely taking up a third of the bed. It's almost like he's trying to take up the least amount of space as possible or make himself the smallest possible target.

Baz walks by J's room next. J's been staying at the house for a week now. Ever since Pope kicked him out of Smurf's. Baz wants to know more, but whenever he asks Pope about what happened all he gets is "your kid is a liar" and that he should talk to J. As usual J is quiet about the whole thing.

Despite the mystery behind the current living arrangements, Lena couldn't be happier. Popsicles (and pancakes, J insists) for breakfast, days at the beach, and pizza after soccer practices has filled the days.

J's not in his room. Baz looks into the bathroom thinking that J might be in there. Sometimes he takes a shower after a particularly bad nightmare. But the bathroom is empty too. Baz heads into the kitchen and sees that the backdoor is cracked open. He walks outside and finds J sitting on the steps, a cigarette in hand.

"Hey," Baz greets quietly as he approaches, J still flinches. Baz can't hold back the curse under his breath when his bad leg makes itself known as he sits down besides J. "Can't sleep?"

J nods as he takes a drag of his cigarette.

"You nervous about the job?" Baz asks rubbing his aching knee. "It's been awhile since Smurf has been on a job."

J remains silent as he looks out to the water. He's going to make Baz work for it. "Is this about Pope?" Baz tries.

This garners more of a reaction out of his son. He shrugs. Bingo.

"Why did he kick you out of Smurf's? And before you ask me to talk to Pope, he's not saying much of anything either. All he says is you're a liar."

Baz knows Pope is right. That J lies. He lies a lot. But J doesn't lie for the sake of lying or to be cruel. There's a reason behind it. J is too calculating to just lie for no reason.

"I took Angela to this place where my mom would go to buy stuff. I left her there with cash," J says quietly, still looking straight ahead.

Baz sighs. J didn't put the needle in Angela's hand, but he came pretty damn close.

"When Pope was looking for Angela, he asked me if I saw her. I said no." J goes on.

Jesus. The kid did lie. And Pope doesn't trust people who lie to him. Just fucking great. Shit is bad between Pope and J and now they're heading into this ridiculous job that Smurf is spearheading. One of them is going to come back with a hole in them or get busted by the cops.

"Why did you do that? Why did you lie?" Baz asks. Knowing why won't change the fact that he did, but it might explain why.

J breaks from looking out towards the water and looks down. "She can't be trusted."

"Jesus, J! You have to give me more than that. She's an addict, of course she can't be trusted. Think of your mom-"

"Don't," J cuts him off. Baz stops. He should have known better. Julia is off limits. Despite Julia dying more than two years ago, J barely speaks of her. What she was like as a mother. Especially in front of Baz. Most of what he has heard about Julia comes from what he has overheard J telling Lena. Like how Julia only ate Sour Patch kids for a week straight once. Or how she once made J a birthday cake replacing the sugar with salt by accident.

"It's different," J says.

Baz wants to ask how it's different but doesn't. He waits for J to go on. He doesn't have to wait long. "My mom didn't know what Damien did."

A good part of Baz always assumed (and hoped) that Julia didn't know what Damien was up to. Because if she did know, it meant that she did nothing about it. He also knows that despite Julia's faults, she did protect J the best she could. Hell, she kept him away from Smurf and them for more than ten years.

But knowing that she was so consumed by her own addiction that she couldn't see what was going on right under her nose doesn't exactly make Baz feel better. It's a bitter pill to swallow.

"He always waited until mom passed out or wasn't around," J says inhaling smoke. "But Angela knew."

Baz figured as much. The look on her face back when he confronted Angela in Smurf's kitchen right after she first showed up, told him all he needed to know. Angela knew about Damien and did nothing.

"This one time when Damien…we were alone at the apartment and Angela walked in," J stops, wiping under his eyes. "I thought she would yell. Tell him to stop. Do something."

Baz takes a minute to gather his thoughts. J doesn't talk much about his childhood and the last thing Baz wants to do is say something wrong that will stop the kid from opening up to him again in the future. "I'm assuming she didn't tell Julia. Did she do anything?"

J lets out a sad laugh. "She asked if my mom had anything at the house. When Damien told her no, she said that she'll be back later and he better have something by then or else. Then she left."

"Jesus," Baz curses, cracking his knuckles. He can feel the anger fill throughout his body. No wonder why J doesn't trust her and wants her out of their lives. Someone like her can't be trusted.

J takes in a deep breath. "I'm sorry. Pope was right, I lied to him. But Angela can't be trusted. If she did that to me and I was just a kid," J whispers, voice cracking at the end. "What will she do if the cops pick her up? She'll turn us all in. Pope wouldn't listen to me when I said she had to go so I had to do something,"

Baz nods now understanding why J did what he did. Yes, he lied. Ad that stunt was shady s shit. But he did it to protect not only himself but also the family. "I get why you did what you did, but you have to stop lying. People like Angela are gonna fuck themselves over, they don't need any help. But that little stunt you pulled now has Pope thinking he can't trust you. And what we do doesn't work if we can't trust each other. So stop with the fucking lying and shady shit."

J slowly nods. "Okay."

"Good, now you ready to go back in? Get some sleep? You got a big pay day tomorrow."

J nods as he stands up, extending an arm to help Baz up. "Let's go in."

**XXXXX**

Baz and J walks into the kitchen the next morning. When he sees Angela and Pope, J quickly leaves joining Deran and Craig loading the trucks.

"You hungry, Baz?" Angela asks. "I made some coffee cake. I can warm some up for you."

Baz smirks. "Nah, I'll rather have pie."

Pope gives him a glare. He's clearly ready to say something but stops when Smurf strolls in. "Morning boys. Angela. Where are the others?"

"They're loading the trucks," Baz replies motioning towards the garage.

Smurf nods. "Good. Baz, baby. Come take a walk with me."

They walk out the back and stop by the pool.

"Angela," Smurf hisses. "Made coffee cake."

"You need to get that bitch out of here, Baz."

Baz agrees but he wants to know what has caused Smurf's change of heart. Yes, she wasn't happy with Angela's appearance but she hasn't been openly hostile towards the addict like J has. "You're the one who just weeks ago was saying how she keeps Pope calm."

"She does keep him calm but she's also causing trouble." Smurf looks towards the kitchen where Pope and Angela are. "I know that J did something to piss Pope off and that's why he's been staying at your place. And I bet that Angela has something to do with it."

"Maybe," Baz says.

"Don't be coy with me," Smurf says.

"He doesn't think that Angela can be trusted."

"He has the right not to. But he and Pope. All of you need to be on the same page. J's a lot like you and me. He's a survivor. Pope doesn't get that. He and your brothers never really had to fight to survive like you, J and I did. You need to fix this. Whatever is going on with J and Pope, it needs to stop."

Baz looks towards the kitchen. "I know. I will."

"Good," Smurf smirks. "Get that bitch out of my house, Baz."


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own Animal Kingdom.**

The sounds of his daughter's laughter and water splashing greets Baz as he enters the back.

"Hi Daddy!" Lena calls out as she scampers out of the pool and runs up to him. Wrapping her tiny arms tightly around his waist. "Missed you."

"Missed you too," Baz says as he kisses his daughter on the top of her head.

Lena was upset when she was first told that Baz was going on a business trip just a few weeks after Smurf died. Smurf's death hit Lena hard. Another loved one gone in her short life. She as well as everyone else, except for the immediate Cody family members and Angela, are under the belief that Smurf died from cancer. She doesn't need to know what really happened. That an unhinged Smurf was shot while aiming a gun to her oldest. Nor does Lena need to know that it was J who shot Smurf.

Lena looks up at him. "Was your business trip good?"

Baz nods. "It was." With Smurf gone, the guys need more business connections. Marco's connections are just the type they need. "Were you good for J?"

"Of course," Lena says with a smirk. "He took me to the aquarium and we went to a beach festival."

"Sounds like you guys had fun," Baz looks around the pool area and sees just Craig sitting on the side of the pool with his feet in the water. Pope and Angela are standing over by the grill. No J. though. When he spoke to J last night, he said that he'll meet him at the house at four. "Hey, where's your brother?"

Lena shrugs. "Don't know. He dropped me off here and said he'll be back soon."

What the hell is J up to now? He's talked to the kid about this shady shit. Pope is already out for the kid's blood; he doesn't need any more ammunition.

"Uncle Craig brought the baby. He's so tiny!" Lena says pointing to a tiny bassinet that is close to Craig's side.

"Babies are tiny. You were that tiny once."

"I was?" Lena asks with big frown eyes.

"Yeah you were. You basically fit in my hand."

"Was J that tiny too?"

Baz nods. He doesn't remember J as a baby per se. But he must have been tiny. All babies are and Julia wasn't exactly the picture of a doting mother to be.

"Cool! I'm gonna go back in the pool. Is that okay, Daddy?"

Baz nods. "Have fun." He walks around to where Craig is sitting and takes a peak into the bassinet to see that the baby is blissfully still sleeping.

"Hey man," Craig greets in a whisper. "Everything went good with Marco?"

Baz nods. "We got some good prospects. How's the sleep deprivation?"

Craig shakes his head. "It sucks, but I love it."

Baz smiles. It's good to see Craig taking such a liking to his new role as father. He seems to be adapting much better than Baz did. "So what's been going on here? Besides you not sleeping."

"Not much. Deran is basically living at the bar since Adrian is gone. Angela and Pope have been busy playing house. You hear about this Pamela chic?"

Jesus even in death Smurf is still fucking them over. After all he's done for Smurf. Kept everything going when Pope was locked up. Playing peacemaker with her and his brothers and she cut him out of her will completely. Lena too. Hell, the only reason J is getting anything is because he's getting Julia's share. "It's fucked up."

"Yeah, but we'll figure it out. I mean you and J will."

"J!" Lena yells from the pool. "Play Marco Polo with me!"

Baz looks up and sees J entering the pool area. He can feel Pope's heated glare from where he sits. You can cut the tension with a knife.

"You gonna do something about that" Craig asks.

"Working on it," Baz says squeezing his brother's shoulder. Leaving Craig, Baz makes his way over to the grill. "Pope. Angela."

"Hi Baz," Angela says. "How was your trip?"

Baz can feel the pure hatred coursing through his body just hearing Angela's voice. "Fine. Things are looking promising."

"That's good," Angela says with a smile.

_Not for you bitch._

"Pope, Got a few minutes? I got to talk to you, alone." Baz says looking to Angela.

"I'm busy," Pope says, eyes on the grill.

"It'll only take a few minutes, but it's important."

"Fine," Pope says as he follows Baz out to the garage.

"What do you want to talk about?" Pope says once the reach the garage.

"This shit. What's going on with you and J has to stop. It's affecting everyone. Everyone's one edge. Even Craig can feel it."

"I didn't do anything. J is the one who lied."

"I get that," Baz says putting his hands up. "J lied. He lies about a lot of shit."

"I can't trust him if he lies. He's always sneaking around. Being all secretive and shit."

Baz knows he's not going to get through to Pope by pleading J's case directly. He has to take another route. More indirect.

"Can Angela be trusted?" Baz asks.

"What?" Pope stutters. "This isn't about Angela. It's about J lying."

"Lying about Angela," Baz replies. "He had a reason."

"He had a reason? So that makes everything better?"

"She knew, Pope. Angela knew."

"She knew?" Pope asks. "What did she know?"

There's no Pope is this blind. This naïve. Damn, Angela is good. She got her claws into him good. "She knew what Damien was doing."

Pope shakes his head. "No. No, if she knew what he was doing she would have done something. Said something, She loved Julia like a sister. She would've done something."

"She's an addict and only cares about herself. So when she walked in on it, she used what she saw to her advantage. In exchange for keeping he mouth shut, he would get her shit. Hell, she would pick J up from school and leave him with Damien for hours. Tell Julia that J was staying after school to get extra help."

J just told Baz that latest piece about a week ago. When Baz caught a frazzled J heading towards the bathroom at three in the morning after another bad nightmare. A teary eyed J begging him not to was the only thing that stopped Baz from driving over to the house and smash Angela's head into the hardwood floors after J told him that Angela basically pimped him out for feed her drug habit.

"No, no." Pope repeats over and over. "She wouldn't."

"She would and she did." Baz says. "So yes J lied and set Angela up but he did it for a reason. He knows she can't be trusted. If she was willing to pimp out a nine year old to feed her drug habit, what's stopping her from rolling on us with the cops if she gets the chance?"

"She wouldn't."

"Jesus Pope!" Baz yells. "She pimped out a nine year! And if that wasn't awful enough, it wasn't just any nine year old. He's your nephew."

Time to use his trump card. " Your twin sister's kid."

It's like a light switch goes on when Baz mentions Julia's name. Julia was always Pope's weakness. Baz' too. The defensiveness and anger are gone. They're instantaneously replaced with hurt and disbelief. "Julia? She know?" Pope asks brokenly.

Baz shakes his head. "She never knew. But Angela did. And she did nothing."

Pope nods silently. His hands clenching into fists.

"I said my piece," Baz says. "I'm not denying that what J did was fucked up. He lied. But taking everything into consideration. His life when he was a kid. I get it. And I can say honestly that I trust him. And I don't trust Angela. But that's me. You need to decide who you trust."

Pope says nothing as Baz leaves. But Baz knows his brother. That look in his eye. The tension in his body that came with the realization that Baz is right about Angela and what she did and didn't do. Baz can bet his share of the next job that Angela will be out of their lives within 24 hours.


End file.
